Detroit Lions Weblog

Lions Win and Earn Every Bit of It

Yesterday’s season opener wasn’t a work of art as far team performances go. Neither team appeared to be close to mid-season form, but the Lions were definitely much better than the Packers (at least on that day). As much of a struggle as it was for the Lions, the players and fans should all be very proud. It was imperative that they start the season with a victory, especially against a divisional foe, against one of the biggest luminaries in the league and against the 3-time repeating division champions.

As the game progressed there was a perceivable changing of the guard. The Packers salted away numerous opportunities with penalties, turnovers and general ineptitude(like teams of Lions past!). Meanwhile, against all expectations, the Lions were stout to all Packer challenges and showed a determination and grit that had yet to be exhibited prior to this game. Throughout the second half, I suffered from anxiety as I kept waiting for the “real” Brett Favre to emerge and make the Lions pay by throwing a Touchdown strike off of his back foot while under chase or for Ahman Green to find daylight for one brief moment and deadlock the score with a long TD jaunt. I am sure that anyone reading this blog can attest to some similar nightmare scenarios continually flashing through their mind’s eyes while they sipped their favorite pilsner and looked on.

Offensively, the Lions were a far cry from the “Greatest Show on Turf”. Still, they managed to find a way to play efficient, credible football. The offensive line remains one of the team’s primary concerns, but it was clear that the Lions offensive personnel also commands respect from opponents as evidenced by the interminable string of pass interference penalites on the Green Bay secondary. I was very excited to see the Lions stretch the field vertically, even if Harrington and his receivers weren’t quite in sync in their downfield attempts. Harrington did complete a 31 yard pass to Charles Rogers that lead to the Lions final TD which sealed the game. I also enjoyed greatly watching offseason additions Marcus Pollard, Kevin Johnson and Mike Williams make an imediate impact towards the Lions success. Most of all, you have to credit Kevin Jones for all of his tough 3 and 4 yard gains against a stouter than expected Green Bay front seven. When you factor in the Lions poor offensive line play, Jones may have gained some of the most tenacious yards any Lions has ever earned. On each successive carry, Jones continues to establish that he is the most important player on the roster and that without him, well let’s just say it is quite hard to imagine their being much success for this team without him.

The Lions defensive performance was a welcome surprise. The pressure they placed on Favre(3 sacks), the turnovers they generated(1 fumble, 2 interceptions), along with holding Ahman Green to 58 harmless rushing yards prevented the Packers offense from scoring a TD for the first time in 77 games. Prior to the game, I figured that if the Packers were to be succesful, that Ahman Green would be the primary component to their offense. Anytime this season that Brett Favre throws more that 40 passes, it is quite likely that the Packers will lose more often than they will win because their defense will be spending way too much time on the field. The entire Lions front seven deserves special mention, their performance won the game for the Lions and never allowed Favre to get into any kind of rhythm.

The Lions did suffer a costly loss. They will probably lose veteran standby K Jason Hanson for at least one game to a strained hamstring. This would be a huge loss, especially with the Lions red zone difficulties. That being said, if the Lions sign a backup placekicker for one week and the bye, I have much more confidence in the team’s ability to overcome Hanson’s loss than I would have had prior to Sunday’s game. The bubbling giddiness of Joey Harrington in his post-game interviews shows just how important it was for this team to emerge victorious over the Packers in this early stage of the season and could prove to be a building block to other victories this year.